The latest hack target is the beauty supply chain Sally Beauty, a retailer that draws customers from salons and other stylists. A new batch of 282,000 stolen debit and credit cards were posted for sale this week on underground marketplaces. [Bloomberg Businessweek]

Now May Be a Good Time to Bail Out of Frequent Flier Programs

Delta Air Lines became the first among the three biggest airlines in the United States to base airline rewards on what a passenger pays for a ticket, not the number of miles flown. Starting in 2015, fliers will earn five to 11 miles for every dollar they spend, depending on their elite status level. Delta hopes to reward the people who spend the most and promises to make redeeming the miles for free flights easier for everyone. [New York Times]

Airlines Confront Credit Card Fraud in the Air

It’s a little-known fact that most credit card purchases that take place in the air don’t actually go through to the credit card company in real-time. Some passengers intentionally take advantage of this (some without realizing it) and use cards that are expired, over their limit or even fake. [CBS News]

The Appeal of Prepaid Debit Cards

Prepaid debit cards have become a popular alternative to checking accounts for more Americans. Consumers loaded $64.5 billion onto prepaid debit cards in 2012, a 13% increase from the $56.8 billion in 2011, and more than double the $28.6 billion in 2009. According to one survey, 12 million people, or 5% of adults, use prepaid cards at least once a month. [LowCards.com]

The Airport Lounge Arms Race

American Express is opening its own lounges at airports for its cardholders, one-upping airline clubs with cool furniture, rich wood paneling, a free celebrity-chef food buffet, showers stocked with L’Occitane products and manicures, facials and massages. Both United Airlines and American Airlines cut off access to their lounges for AmEx Centurion and Platinum cardholders. The perk of lounge access at multiple airlines was a major selling point for premium AmEx cards. [The Wall Street Journal]

Target Profits Tumble After Breach

Target experienced a significant profit loss in the fourth quarter of 2013. Revenue fell 5.3% during that time, but profits were down 46%. Target says the cost of the breach has been $61 million thus far, which has been partially offset by $44 million in insurance payouts. [LowCards.com]

New Lenders Spring Up to Cater to Subprime Sector

A crop of new lenders is jumping into the subprime personal loan market, wooing consumers with flawed credit who have been neglected since the financial crisis. They charge is a premium above prime loans–those made to borrowers with strong credit scores–but less than what many consumers pay for credit cards and payday loans. [The Wall Street Journal]

LowCards.com Weekly Credit Card Rate Report

Based on the 1,000+ cards in the LowCards.com Complete Credit Card Index, the average advertised APR for credit cards is 14.49%, slightly lower than last week’s 14.50%. Six months ago, the average was 14.39%. One year ago, the average was 14.32%. [LowCards.com]

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